Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 August 1943 — Page 15

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a day at saying goodby this week. . . . i’ in a College ave. drugstore (we won’t identify it) and

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: | SOMEWHERE IN SICILY (By Wireless.)—All y Jife T. ‘have enjoyed being in hospitals, as soon as

h original moaning-and-groanihg stage was past, and my recent time at a front-line army clearing ation was no exception. ©On the third day I was : scared to dea that was well enough to leave, But the doctor looked thoughtful and said. he ‘wanted me to stay another day. I would have kissed him, if he had been a nurse instead of a man with a mustache and a stethoscope. That was the only trouble with our hospital, it didn’t have any nursés. In fact we lacked a number of the usual hospital touches. We were hidden, in- ; evitably, in an olive grove, and oy floors were merely the earth. The toilet was & with canvas around it. And if you washed ¥' * did so in your own steel helmet. There were no suc things as hospital pajamas or bathrobes. I arrived in. my army coveralls and left in my coveralls, and I never once had them off all the time I was there. - During the day they kept the sides of our tent rolled up, and it was pleasant enough lying there with athing to do. But at night the tent had to be tly closed for the blackout, and it became deadly stuffy,

Sleep Almost Impossible

‘AND ALL night long the litter-bearers would be soming and going with new wounded, It made an scene in the dim glow of our single lantern, and sleep was almost impossible. - So the last couple of nights we moved our cots outdoors and slept again under the wide [starry skies of Sicily, and attendants brought our medicine out there in the dark. German bombers came over but we Just lay there, Every morning a chapldin would come around with a big boxful of cigarets, tooth powder and stuff.

The docten ham ona Haid: diet at. Asst. But 1 gradually talked him into advancing me to a soft

diet and finally to a regular one. That progression |

from liquid to soft to regular diet was one.of the greatest experiences of my life, for, believe it or not, they were all three exactly the same thing—soup and canned tomato juice. When I accused the doctor of duping me he grinned and said: “Well, it comes under the heading of keeping the patient happy by pretending. to humor his whims.” Happy! I was hungry! But as you see I survived, and actually IT must say I have never been treated more grandly anywhere than by those doctors and men. ;

Ward-Boys Attentive

THE TWO main impressions I got out of it was (1) the thoughtful and attentive attitude of the doctors and ward-boys toward the wounded men, and '(2) the grand spirit of the wounded men themselves. I'll write tomorrow about the second of these two. As pitiful as wounded men are, it is easy to become hardened and cross with so many through your hands. You could eventually get to hate them and look upon them, all as just so many nuisances who came deliberately to cause you more work. - Yet the ward-boys treated their wounded as though they were members of their own family. This was especially true of the wardmasters, who are responsible for whole tents. Our night wardmaster was Cpl. Woodrow Cox of Milo, Okla. He was a ranch hand back home, yet his voice is almost like a musical instrument, and he talks with that snail-like Oklahoma drawl that is so soothing in times of excitement. Another, Cpl. Rodney Benton of Oklahoma City, is one of twins, and his identical brother Robert is a corporal in this division’s other clearing station. They are 23. Both had two years of pre-medical work at the University of Oklahoma, and they intend to be doctors. So you see they were in their glory here. In fact they almost drove the doctors nuts asking questions all the time.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowell Nussbaum

‘WE MENTIONED four-leaf clovers a while back aud got swamped with champions. So we decided not to mention anyone's big tomato or tall corn for fear of -being swamped as we've never been swamped beTofe. But every rule has its exception, and we just can’t help telling you that one of our far North Side victory gardeners has popcorn growing 101% feet high—about double the usual height. However, there's a good reason for it going so high in the air. The gardener happens to be Charles Lindberg, 6116 College ave. +» + «» Charles M. Sharp, principal of Howe high school, hopes all the boys and girls will bring their own fountain pens when they report next month for the fall semester. There’s .a shortage of pens at the school, and penciled registrations aren't so good. . By the way, the various public high schools will start receiving registrations next week from students who wish adjusted programs so they can hold down jobs after school hours.

Hoarding in Reverse <A GROCER ON the near North Side was “boiling” when .one of our agents walked in a day.or so after the repeal of coffee rationing. “Did you see that oman who’ just went out?” he asked. “Well, she bas to know if I would take back 27 pounds -of coffee. She’s afraid it might get rancid.” The answer hg gave her was an impolite “No.” . . . Smiley Chambers, Democratic member of the safety board, walked into the board room Tuesday, the usual meeting day, and sat down beside Board President Bill Remy. “Let's go; I'm ready for business,” he said. “Don’t you remember?” asked Remy. “The meeting was postponed until Thursday.” Smiley blushed. . . . Dick Emery, teacher at school 8, now is Ensign Richard Edwin Emery. He's just been commissioned and reports Moniceton, N. J., for indoctrination. He’s around A reader reports being

In London

LONDON, Aug. 12 a y Wireless) .—Anglo-American

I alo of the French national committee of lib-

eration, which Washington hints is coming soon, will help in North Africa. Our action has been delayed far too long. Our failure to recognize the committee thus far has caused the rise of some feeling in North Africa antagonistic to the allies. Gen. De Gaulle takes it as a studied indication of our displeasure directed at him. The effect is to weaken those in the | French committee who are striving to insure the Jyestoration of self-government, in . France at the times of her libera- ~ tion. On the allied side, our hanL dling of political affairs seems to To @ be a maze of floundering, indeelsions, . and of questionable use of Gen. Eisenhower a8 a mouthpiece for political warfare,

ete in Sure Touch

STATE department has been subjected to ich. picayune criticism, and sometimes to blame ~ which. was not properly placed there. But regardless of who must share the responsibility, the fact is that

2 ee from this, side our handling of political matters in

ection with the war appears to be completely in the sure touch, the sense of unity, the clear direction, the understanding and the bold, efficient execution that are shown on.the military side of the ied effort. : . With the war reaching the state of axis disintegrait is imperative that Roosevelt and Churchill put s side of their affairs into the same excellent run\g order that exists on the military side. Task 91 uiled oily Ss ¥0, what shel be fone

NEW YORK CITY, Wednesday —I was very much reed yesterday in finding out just what’ was carried on in the school at Edgecomb ave. and st, which is open to the children during the

s for one month. One group told me that they

" were studying electricity, and how. _ to ‘make minor repairs at home. . ‘Others were learning how to ‘make use of scrap ‘material in making rough furniture or small repairs in their own homes. Another is ‘working on a play. They have | enlisted the help of some members of the American theater wing and

some day will give their play for

WEEMS. the community. A group is getting unity paper which must be a little difficult sh in New York City, but the small boy me and asked me questions. seemed not. at

. Cam sure hie Hig~ his area wall covered.

doing a pioneering job— Bre one SoH ity Jo Aue Hari

seeing a woman buying a milk shake for herself and a dish of ice cream for her dog, who sat beside her. The knowledge of today’s youngsters of all things military is a source of constant amazement to us mere adults. They can take a glance at a soldier, for instance, and almost tell his life history. A case in point: Cpl. John L. Butler, home from Hawaii on furlough, was walking on Fall Creek blvd. Tuesday afternoon, between Delaware and Central, when he passed four or five dirty, barefooted boys who evidently had been playing along the creek bank. They spotted John and one commented, interestedly: “Corporal—air corps.” The second observing youngster, noting the yellow ribbon on John’s breast, added: “Hawaii!” A third youth, ‘noting John wasn’t wearing silver wings. ended the discussion with a disgusted: “Aw, ground crew!”

Dr. Page Writes Book

DR. IRVINE H. PAGE, director of the Lilly clinic at the Indianapolis City hospital, has authored a new book, “Hypertension,” just being published. Written in language easily understood by the layman, it's intended as a manual to assist those suffering from high blood pressure, and to inform them what the disease is “all about.” . , , T. Sgt. Florentine J. Piateski (better known as Pete when he was in.the first violin section of the Indianapolis Symphony) is over in Sicily with the. infantry band he conducts. A letter to the symphony staff reports his band was in every major action in the African campaign—sometimes fighting. In Sicily, he writes, “the band is being used more as a morale outfit, which gives us a chance to ‘play. I'm trying to get the boys away from the approved G. I. musical manner, and we're playing stuff like Gershwin, Calliett’s arrangements of some of the things we played back there, and some popular ‘things. One thing I'd like very much is Dubensky’s fanfare, but I can’t rememper it, otherwise I'd have written it out for the outfit. Do you suppose Sevitzky might let me have a copy: of the score.” A copy of the score is

-being made post-haste.

By Raymond Clapper

with Germany has already opened the way for the Soviets to start their free-Germany campaign. Secondly, we may have blundered in the way we put it up to the neutrals not to harbor axis war criminals. We raised a question that seems to infringe on their sovereign rights, and they all may be

inclined to reject our communication. It might have

been possible to obtain their co-operatoin in a way that did not, on the record, offend the national pride of the neutrals.

Neglected the Realities

THIRDLY IN the handling of the French political situation it seems clear that we have neglected the realities. Although there are some traits about De Gaulle that make him difficult to deal with, some grounds for fear that he may attempt [to assert a dictatorial leadership when France is liberated, he is at present, and so far ahead as we can see, the strongest political force among Frenchmen. Gen. Giraud never will be a political leader. We simply cannot prop him up to the point of effectiveness. The De Gaulle forces have made capital out of our taking Giraud to the United States for a big show while pointedly ignoring De Gaulle, the dominant political figure. Middle-ground Frenchmen such as Jean Monnet, minister of armaments, are working on a plan to insure general elections in France as soon as liberation has gone far enough, and to have the committee recognized as a limited trustee for that purpose. There must be a strong, friendly France for our protection. A weak France, prey to hostile influences, would be most dangerous for us as well as for the British, We must work with what we have, which is De Gaulle and the committe of liberation.

By Eleanor Roosevelt

idea is evidently interesting other people; for a representative from OCD came up to me and said they would try to find something for some of the young sters to do. Some one else represented a music group which was interested in helping. So, if you have a good idea, you are apt to find people who will rally|, around to help you carry it out. : I happened to notice a little item in the paper not long ago, in which one of our most noted educators stated that in Great Britain post-war social and economic programs are actually down in detail, but they are a little uncertain about them, because they have not been able to discover whether the British plans are really more reliable than ours would be. They could only represent the ideas of a few groups, and the plans for this post-war period must represent more than 8 few groups in Great Britain and in the United States. | They must represent the idea of the Russian people, the Chinese people and many other peoples, who are going to be a part of the united nations. Sometimes,

“F think that the post-war plans for this war will taks| a long time in formulation. There may have to be a | considerable

Prion Jn; Which [he Sods ot Duman

By Ernie Pyle i

Every Cadet ‘Must Have 5

(Fourth of a Series)’

By JESS STEARN Times Special Writer ;

WEST POINT, N. Y,, Aug. 12.—At West ‘Point today every cadet gets as much chance to ride a plane as he once did a horse. Every cadet, whether bound for the artillery or the infantry, must have at least five hours in the air,. and virtually half the cadet corps now winds up in the

clouds. The last class to leave the Point, as recently as six weeks ago, gave 206 of its 514 graduates to the army air force, while 114 went to infantry and eight to cavalry. While West Point was slow getting into aviation, through no fault of its own, it is now making up for lost time with a flourish. For years air-minded cadets had to take their training at southern fields following graduation. At mammoth. Stewart field, where construction is ‘still going on, a new West Point of the Air has risen out of the dust and debris to furnish Uncle Sam with hundreds of whirling dervishes. In its first year the West Point school, one of the few combining advanced and preliminary’ training, has produced 400 pilots—and this is'only a starter. Its pilots know more than just how to fly a plane, for the cadet specializing in aviation has already acquired a pretty clear picthre of how a war is fought. By the time he reaches Stewart field, in his last year at the acadamy, he has learned how the artillery bést helps the infantry, the best way for planes to blast the enemy, and, even more importantly, he has learned how to handle men. ! » » ” IT WAS a wise leader who said:

“The weapons change, but the men are the same.” 2

SCHOOL OPENING

Some Upper Grade Pupils

Helping on Farms.

It'll be back to school for Indianapolis and Marion county public school ‘pupils Sept. 7 the regularly sched date.

made today by DeWitt S. Motgan, city school superintendent, and H. F. Griffey, Marion county school superintendent, . Some pupils in the upper gindes. who are properly ‘qualified, will be allowed: to begin their school work at a later date to help on the farms, the superintendents said, but each case will be a matter of individual adjustment of the pupil’s program which must be worked out in ad-

beings for living will fhe fest emential.

SET FOR SEPT. 7|

To Begin Later if They’re

Hours in Air |

Even though they have already been through ‘the hopper, first classmen applying for flying go through another filtering process, gradually straining out cadets physically or temperamentally unsuited for aerial combat. At Stewart field everything is measured in terms of actual com-

bat and weakness is inexcusable— -

for-while an instructor ntay overlook a mistake, the fates rarely do, “Two ‘cadets ‘died ‘in “the first major mistake. They were in the. same plane, getting ready to'land, when the.novice pilot, startled hy an approaching plane; jerked his’ ship (into a deadly spin. - In-his- excitement every lesson that "he hdd learned slipped from him—and ‘at 700 feet there was never :a chance fo try it again. Even ‘while the wreckage was

béing cleared away L&. Col. Ben-

jamin J. Webster, commander of training, shocked as he was by

the crash, called in his flying"

cadets ‘for a special blackboard session. Discuss Tragedy COOLLY, as impersonally as possible, the colonel strove to treat

‘the ‘tragedy as an aeronautical problem, discussing at great length

exactly what had happened and -

how it could have been avoided. ~ “Now, don't let this thing bother ° you,” he cautioned, before sending * the boys off, “but if it does I want

Men 'W illing to Die’ Given

A Word Picture of Invasion

NEW “YORK, Aug. 1. P)—

1 the Sicilian invasion every Naval Lt. John

ic a [ordered to’ give similar. service.

Announcement of the date was|Als :

Was” HY Se ‘Brown said he was called ‘to, the bridge and told: “This-is ‘a democratic war. vet only ‘one’ man out: of 10 in combat

{ casts “on “his ship.

richanged from background materide

Col. George F. Schlatter, commandant of Stewart field at West Point.

to know about it,” Brooding, experience has revealed, is an invitation to disaster in’ the air. While the cadets have their choice : as bombers or fighters, their instructors frequently make up their minds for them, as Col. Webster explains: “If we see some fellow with a gleam in his eye and an unholy desire to make his plane go, we'll” make a fighter out of him. If he’s .. the - slower, steadier - type, he'll probably ‘make a bomber.” ., Besides mastering combat flying in ‘a ‘noncombat way, the West Pointers get a few .tips on -the enemy from men who: leatned the hard way. “These specialists fouiude Mal. Everett W. Holstrom, who flew over: Tokyo with Doolittle and - aver. China with Chennault; Maj. George J. LaBreche, fresh from North ‘Africa; Capt. Arthur E.° Andres, from the South Pacific, and ‘Maj. Ralph G. Lycan, from the Aleutians. s » »

“THE ENEMY, as Maj. Holstrom points out, 1s a ‘beast of many stripes... “The Japs; " he says, “ignore the fighter - protection and go .after the ‘bombers. This sets them up like clay pigeons: for the fighters. But the’ Germans, of course, g0 after ‘the fighters - before the bombers.” .

has.any idea of what is going on. .'If a man is willing to die for his country, he has s right to be in ‘the know.” Brown. immediately began broadOther units in Admiral Kirk's command were The newscasts on Brown’s’ ship

and feature ‘sketches, ‘presented as ‘the v started across the Atlantic, to-“spot ‘news” descriptions as the . armada approached’ the enemy. shoreline.. -On the first night of the .attack, Brown spent from 11:30 p. m. to 7:30 a. th. alternately |: observing. te ‘attion and newscasting.

ARMY EXPERTS PLAN 0 GUT FOOD COSTS

CHICAGO, Aug. ‘13 (U. py)

Gessell Go the Call—H e Answered

Cadets line up in front of planes. Lt. Col. Benjamin J. Webster (left), director of training at West Roint.

“Most American bombers,” he warns, “are shot down by going ‘out of formation.” While Stewart: field : naturally is: part and: parcel of West Point, it is, nevertheless, so big and so ' specialized that it has assumed a physical quality of its’ own. Sprawled . over 1600 acres, 15 miles from the military academy, itshouses and feeds a small army of its own, including. 1600 enlisted men as well as hundreds of cadets and instructors. It has three auxiliary fields within ‘a radius of 40 or 50 miles, used extensively for practice land-

ings. It has 200 buildings; including barracks, mess halls, administrative offices, theaters, hangars and a post hospital which seems to be specilizing in maternity cases. It is handling 40 of them right now, according to ‘Maj. Henry Ross, all being the wives of personnel. Maj.: Ross... incidentally, is distinguished as the only West Pointer ever to’ head the medical staff of a military hospital. He is. further distinguished as the Ausband of Glenda Farrell, the blond: movie: actress. iE 8.8% Arnold’s Brainchild

WITH ALL ‘its impressiveness Stewart field is the brainchild of Gen. Henry. H. Arnold, '07, chief of the army air force and the

first American aviator to rate the

: four -stars of a full general. For more than 25 years, ever - since the: Wrights give him wings, Arnold fought for a flying school at West Point. "A major victory was won in July, 1926, when the war department authorized a hangar and ramp at the military academy for one amphibian plane, which, for lack .of a landing field, bellywhopped on the Hudson. . By 1933, the year Hitler rose to power, West Point's air fleet had jumped ‘to three pianes, but onethird of the fleet was irretrievably lost when it overturned in Newburgh bay after a rough landing. Now there are 11 différent types

CLAIMS MANY

ILL MENTALLY

Psychiatrist Reports on | 6,000,000 as Edge Of Sickness.

.. By Science Service Aug. 12-23ix Americans are suffering from illnesses that are not exactly mental diseases and yet are not) wholly physical—they are in a sort of : no-man’s-land called ‘Borderlands of Psychiatry.” “This is an estimate by Dr. Stanley Cobb of Harvard medical school ‘and | psychiatrist-in-chief -of . Massachusetts General hospital. It is he who has named this fleld of medicine “porderlands” because it is'a fron_|tier territory of modern medicine; much of it is claimed by neurclogists, general medical ‘practitioners,

- | psychologists and even teachers and | preachers, but much of .it is dis- *. [claimed by any or all of them.

Lists Border Cases The ‘army of sufferers in the bor~

9:30 :a. m. Saturday be umes at urial Co-

of planes—and.a: plane for just about every cadet at the field, While a gift of 225 acres by the neighboring city of Newburgh a few years later was the nucleus for Stewart field, it wasn't till ‘Gérman air power had subdued most of Europe: that’ West Point saw action. Congress, recognizing the plane was here to stay, came up with a few - quick millions, and the dirt began to fly. As acres ' of surrounding country-side were gobbled up, whole hills were leveled off and dumped into valleys; houses were razed, forests cleared and swamps drained, »

Cemetery Removed

IN HIS anxiety to acquire acreage without treading on sentimental toes Col. Freeman C. Bowley, the academy’s inspector-gen~ eral, found himself driven to grave extremes—and in one case was forced to pick up a cemetery piecemeal and plant it elsewhere. + The cemetery, a private plot, dating back to the Colonial era; cub directly across one of the field’s projected runways, three of which are more than a mile long. “For sentimental reasons,” colonel said, “the family didn’t want to sell. So we agreed to move ‘the cemetery to’ a suitable spot for them. “When we started out we knew of only 21 headstones, but before we were through excavating we had to-move 79 bodies.” Since the law requires that re burials be observed with the same dignity and ceremony as the original rite, Colonel Bowley had to arrange for mass funeral services. He provided the bodies with new caskets and supplied a hearse which removed the dead to a plot by the side of a road.

“And asa last measure,” Colonel Bowley said, “we had to have the provost marshal assign us enough MP’s to keep the curious away.”

» »

the

bering.

Next: . The Wives.

This Message Via Housewife’

WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (U. P.) —Western Union Telegraph Co. today revealed that “house-

wife agencies” now handle telegram delivery in 48 major cities. The service. was inaugurated about a year ago to supplement curtailed -messénger delivery, The company: reported that 856 branch and main offices telephone “messages to housewife agents for distribution. to nelghbors without Selenhomes. Each housewife is on duty a specified ;number of hours a day, . With an alternate named to serve in her absence, Gani

MARY RICHARDSON

DIES IN | HOSPITAL | Eo FE

Miss : Standard ave. died ed: today hospital after an iness of

weeks. Sie Was TL.

C. Wilson chapel’ i Yi

at: Mt, (Olivet, ‘cemetery. sear Gor lumbus.

A brother, ‘John Richardson

HOLD EVERYTHING gr